Monday, February 27, 2012

EGLSF statement on José Mourinho

The European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF) today called on UEFA to take action against José Mourinho for comments in which he referred to match officials as “maricones” (“faggots” in English). The comments were made by the Real Madrid coach prior to their Champion’s League tie against CSKA Moscow. The comments were captured on film, which was later shown on the Spanish television channel Quatro.

Louise Englefield, Co-president of the EGLSF, an organisation representing over 17,000 lesbian gay bisexual and trans (LGBT) athletes across Europe, said: “Homophobia is unacceptable from anyone in football, much less from one of the game’s most senior figures. We are deeply disappointed that Mr Mourinho is casually using homophobic terms of abuse in his workplace.

It is especailly sad that these comments have been made during the International Football v Homophobia campaign week. This is a time during which the European football community should be joining forces to tackle discrimination and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people . As long-standing partners of the FARE network, we call on UEFA to take action and impose appropriate sanctions”